One More Hour
by rgs38
Summary: Clark Lane tries hard to be a normal teenager but having a father like Ed Lane makes it tougher. Clark has to think quick on his feet and Ed has to deal with the fact that Clark is no longer a kid. First Fanfic ever, some cursing and suicide themes
1. Chapter 1

20

One More Hour

_This is my first Fanfiction ever. I've spent a lot of time reading them over the past few weeks and I don't know why but the stories really rekindled an interest in the show for me. So my requests and disclaimers: Please review, I'm still not really sure about my ability to write fanfiction, so I want feedback (Constructive please.) Also, there's not going to be any slash, there is more than enough of that. I don't own anything except for the random kid characters. So without further ado: _

"Listen man, this isn't the way, okay? Trust me here, give me the gun and...and everything will be okay..." he hesitated, not wanting to say the wrong words.

"No! No. No...no...no" he kept saying, progressively getting quieter until it was barley a whisper.

"I get it. You're scared, and you're pissed off at everyone and everything, but this isn't the way. Come on Sean, give me the gun and we'll walk out of here together. You're...you're not alone anymore." He stepped forward ever so slowly. _He's not holding the gun so tightly, it looks like he's relaxing. What now? What now? Do I ask for it again? Do I just take it? Maybe I should wait, or maybe-_his thoughts were interrupted by the shrill ring of the bell. _Shit._

Students began pouring into the hallway as they began heading towards their respective classes. They were going about their business: talking, laughing. He found it ironic as he heard a group of girls approaching and they were giggling manically. And then he saw them. The group of boys was sauntering out of the gym hallway where they cut class in the locker rooms. He wasn't the only one that saw them. Sean's mouth seemed to twitch ever so slightly into a smile as he turned.

"You're a good kid Clark. I'm sorry about this." He turned and raised his gun, holding it steadily as the group approached them. Fear barley had time to register as Ian realized that he had a gun pointed at his head. Clark panicked as he heard a gunshot blast through the air, silencing everything momentarily, then the chaos really began.

-Lane Residence, 6 Hours Earlier-

"One more hour, that's all I'm asking," he said with an even voice trying hard to maintain eye contact. The silence was beginning to bother him as he wondered how long he should keep looking into those icy blue eyes.

"I'll think about it," his father said looking carefully at his son. Between the long days and the irregular hours at the SRU, Ed felt as though he barley knew his son anymore, he'd aged years since the last time he felt that he'd seen him. "I don't see what's wrong with your 11PM curfew, I think that's a fair time to be home. Your mother and I worry about you Clark." Ed said, treading carefully around his teenage son.

Clark tried to keep the annoyance from his face as he began picking at his cereal. He understood that his father's job was important and that it was hard but Clark felt restricted by his controlling father. _You know what they say_, Clark thought as he tried to keep his attitude in check, _cops have seen it all. He doesn't want to lose me...but he should trust me!_ Clark wasn't doing a great job at keeping his anger contained. "Dad, I get it, you want to keep me safe, but I've never done anything to make you not trust me." His voice steadily rose as he kept thinking and talking.

"I hear you-" Ed started calmly, but Clark interrupted.

"Don't negotiate me! I know what you're doing, your mirroring me, trying to deescalate me. Not everything is a hostage situation Dad! I'm not some psychopath, I'm a teenager with good grades, good friends, and I want a later curfew!" Clark took a breath knowing that the conversation was over. His Dad was set in his ways and losing his temper was only going to make it so that it was impossible to continue. "I have to go to school now." Ed started to get up. "No, I'm going to walk." Clark said firmly, but in a calmer voice. "I want to blow off some steam before homeroom, the walk will clear my head." He said getting up and pulling a sweatshirt over his head. "I'll see you..." he thought for a moment, "well I'll see you at some point in the next few days I guess." Clark said with a slightly bitter tone. Ed took a breath to steady himself as Clark headed to the door.

"Love you Clark. We'll talk about this when I'm home, hopefully at a decent time tonight, okay?" Ed asked, hoping to get some response.

"Yeah, sure Dad." Clark said without turning around. The door closed and Ed thought about his son and the time that he had missed while at work. _Teenagers_. _I don't know what happened between 9 and 15, but I wish that they could always stay in the single digits. _Ed trusted Clark, more than he knew, but he just couldn't see his son hurt. Ed had been a cop for a long time and he knew what happened when kids had too much free time, minimal supervision, and after midnight. _Quit it Ed,_ he said to himself,_ Clark is an awesome kid. He knows right from wrong. He wouldn't do anything stupid._ He let out a sigh. Time for work. Maybe he'd get home at a reasonable time and be able to talk to Clark. _Maybe 11:30 is a fair compromise..._

-Central High School, 7:45 AM-

Clark liked the feel of the cold air on his exposed face as he walked briskly towards his school. It was only about a mile from his home, usually his Dad would drive him in the winter, when he was home at least, but the walk gave Clark time to calm down. It was something that Greg had always told him. Greg was a great friend to his father, and a great Uncle to Clark, he was always there when Clark wanted to talk or just vent. Greg always said that he was like his father: too stubborn for his own good sometimes. Greg also told him that his father would run when he was stressed out and needed to calm down, Greg was the one that suggested Clark work out his frustration by exercising. Clark walked, Ed ran, both would never concede their ideas.

Clark rounded a corner and walked onto the school grounds carefully avoiding a group of boys standing at the bike rack. He knew that he would not be a serious target of the bullies, everyone knew that his father was a cop and no one wanted to mess with him for fear of this father's wrath, but Clark chose not to stick around to see if they would be bored or ballsy enough to do anything today. After successfully passing the bike rack he headed up the stairs of the school and stopped near the top to sit down. He had some friends, a tight group of people that he liked to talk to and hang out with, but they were all on a field trip for their political science class today. Clark considered taking the class, he would have done fine in it and he would have had a chance to be with his friends, but instead he decided to take a criminal justice class. Though his mother knew about the class, he tried to keep it from his father. Clark still didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Some days, when he would visit his father at work and see first hand what he did and hear about the people he helped, he thought that he would follow in his father's footsteps and become a police officer. But then there were days that he would come home after taking lethal action. Ed didn't have to tell them about his day for Clark and his mother to know what had happened, there was a feeling around him, this darkness. If someone as tough as his Dad had trouble doing that, Clark didn't think that he would ever be able to do it.

A loud hollow bang broke his train of thought. He looked around as he noticed that the campus had grown silent. Ian, the leader of the bullies, was standing over a meeker boy, Sean, and his fallen bicycle. Sean didn't really seem hurt, it looked like Ian had pushed him over after he had stopped his bike. Sean was laying on the ground, trying to untangle himself from his bike as Ian stepped up, saying something unintelligible from Clark's position, and kicked him hard in the ribs. Clark stood up and gathered up all of the courage he could muster as he jogged over and yelled out.

"Fuck off Ian!" Clark had reached the scene and was trying to put himself between Ian and Sean, who was grasping his chest and trying to crawl away.

"Ohh, looky here boys." Ian said in a mocking tone to his friends, just behind him, ready to back him up. "Look like Clarky here grew a pair, or, wait...where's your Daddy, he gonna come in and save you." Ian poked him in the chest, making it even more apparent that Clark was very desperately outweighed by the older boy. "What do you want Clarky?" Clark was trying to think._ Do I back down and look like a wimp? Do I stare him down? No, he's an alpha-male, he'll take it as a threat if I stare him down._ Clark took a deep breath as the bell rang and he backed up slowly, softening his gaze. He stepped backwards, careful not to trip on the bike, still on the ground.

"Nothing man, no worries," Clark said softly, "I'm gonna go to class now." He continued to move slowly, aware of the tension in the air. He didn't turn his back on the group until he reached the stairs of the school. He went up deliberately, trying not to look afraid, but what he hoped would be perceived as just wanting to go to class. He was late, the second bell had rung as he was backing away but he didn't particularly care. The teachers loved him and no one would care that he was in the hall without a pass. He grabbed his backpack as he went through the doors remembering that he needed to get a book from his locker. He made a quick turn and walked with a quick pace to his locker. Something in the back of his mind was bothering him. He couldn't figure out what it was, he just felt that today was going to be a long day for some reason.

-SRU Headquarters 8:00 AM-

_Today is going to be a long day,_ Ed thought as he reached the floor that housed the SRU. There wasn't a lot on the roster for the day and, though sometimes it was nice to have a break from the chaotic job they had, slow usually meant a combination of workout and paperwork. The workout part Ed didn't mind, he liked to workout, particularly to do weights and run, but Ed couldn't stand paperwork...thus there was a huge and ever growing pile of papers shoved into his locker that he had sworn he would one day get around to finishing up.

"Hey Boss," Ed said as he strolled into the Briefing Room and approached the Sergeant. It seemed that Greg was always there. He was settled before everyone got to HQ and he was the last to leave. Always calm, always started the day with a smile.

"Eddie," he looked up from his newspaper "how you doing? Good night off?" Greg asked. It wasn't often that the SRU finished their job at a reasonable time, the day prior had Team One leaving the station at 4:45 PM, a rarity that Ed and Wordy particularly enjoyed as they would be having dinner with their families.

"It was fine." Ed said shortly. Nothing got past Greg though, it was like a sixth sense.

"Eddie, anything you want to talk about?" Greg asked sympathetically.

"It's nothing...I just realized something this morning. Clark is a teenager. I mean, I knew that, he is 15 now, but...I don't know, I guess it just never really crossed my mind until this morning that he was a true teenager." Ed said sitting down, looking somewhere just over Greg's left shoulder, lost in his thoughts. "I mean, it's just his curfew now, but in a year he'll be asking to borrow the car, and then he'll be looking at colleges, going to college, getting a job, getting married, having kids...I'll be a grandfather..." Ed was going off thinking about the things that he missed, that would surely come. Greg gently placed his hand on Ed's shoulder, bringing him back into focus.

"Eddie, I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself here. You're right, Clark has really grown up, he's a young man, but you have to realize that he's got a good head on his shoulders, and he loves you. You guys are bound to fight every now and then, but I don't think that you need to be worried about him running off and getting married quite yet." Greg added with a slight smile. Ed knew that he was right, he was reeling in his past and his future. Clark was 15, it would be a long time before he needed to start worrying about grandchildren.

"You're right. I just worry about him. He doesn't know it, but that boy...young man...he might know exactly how to get on my nerves, but I love him so much."

"He knows Eddie, he knows." Greg comforted. They heard some people in the hall joking around and knew that the rest of the team had arrived. "Go get changed." Ed rose from the chair with a nod of thanks towards Greg and began to walk towards the door. "Oh and Ed," Greg called as he picked up his newspaper, "don't think I forgot about that pile of reports in your locker." Ed sighed as he knew what was coming. "Get started now, I can't wait another month." Ed stalked away, not excited about the day ahead and not happy with the humorous taunts that Spike threw at him in the locker room.

"Don't give yourself a paper cut Ed!" Spike said as he ran from the locker room, barley missing the boot that Ed had launched towards him.

-Central High School, 12:30 PM-

_So as I wrote this I realized that it was turning out more and more like a prior episode "Perfect Storm," but that's one of my favorite episodes, so I guess I should have seen that one coming. _

It had been a long, boring day thus far for Clark. He'd gotten through his first classes easily. He loved Chemistry (a trait which he always attributed to his experiments with Spike as a kid) and he always did well in Calculus. The lunch period seemed longer than usual. Without his friends around he found that he ate quickly and was finished and ready for his next class in five minutes. He tried to sit and read in the Cafeteria but it was too loud for him to focus. It was too cold out for him to walk around the campus, so he asked for a pass and decided he'd go to his locker and then head to his next class early.

An outsider would have easily been confused by the oddly designed school. Between split floors, towers, ramps, stairs, and the subject wings, it was a huge source of anxiety for incoming freshmen. Clark smiled as he took a small set of emergency stairs to the top floor of the school, he figured he would walk along the windows and look out at the sports fields before heading to his locker. The halls were quiet, people were either in the cafeteria or in the common area near the front of the school. He was in the rear, near the gyms and the random offices were. When he heard a locker close behind him, Clark jumped a bit. Whoever had just been there was quiet, Clark had sharp senses and hadn't heard anyone nearby. He rounded a corner and saw someone standing at a locker. He couldn't see who it was, the locker was blocking his face, but he was able to hear ragged breathing.

Clark slowly approached the locker. This section of the school had the lockers for the sophomore class, his class, so he knew that the person behind the locker was someone he would know. Clark inched over and, not wanting to startle whoever it was softly called out,

"Hey..." The person behind the locker suddenly tensed up. Clark could only see a silhouette of the person, it was a boy. He was wearing dark jeans and a green sweatshirt. He still couldn't see the person's face, they were trying very hard to hide it, but Clark thought he knew who it was anyway. "Sean...is that you?" He asked cautiously.

"You should get out of here Clark. You don't need to be here." Sean said with a cold undertone to his voice. Clark didn't understand what he meant. Sean was a bright kid; kind of a loner, nice enough, just timid and shy. It didn't help that he'd been picked on by Ian since they were kids.

"What do you mean, Sean?" Clark asked hesitantly. He wasn't really friends with Sean. They'd worked together on projects in Criminal Justice, and when they were younger they hung out a little bit, but Clark was on pretty much everyone's good side. He had stepped closer to the locker and was able to see over the top into Sean's hands. Clark's heart skipped a beat as he saw Sean gripping a gun. Sean backed away when he saw Clark's surprise and put his back to the wall simultaneously raising the gun to his head. Clark was in shock for a moment, giving Sean enough time to repeat himself.

"You should go. You don't need to see this Clark." Sean released the safety and cocked the gun, ready to shoot.

-SRU Headquarters, 1 PM-

_Damn paperwork._ Ed thought as he looked at the piles of paper that threatened to engulf him. _This stuff really pilled up quick. If I'm going to force Clark to quit procrastinating, I should really set an example..._ Ed had gone off in day dreams again. He wasn't really a paperwork kind of guy; he was more of a let's go look for someone to arrest sort of person. He was thinking about maybe seeing if the Sarge would let them go out on patrol for the last few hours of the shift when he heard a vibrate. Ed rarely kept his phone on during the day, but in his search for a distraction from the paperwork, he had turned it on, texting his wife periodically throughout the day. He was surprised when he say that he was getting a call from Clark's phone.

"Hey Clark. Is everything okay? You're supposed to keep your phone off during the day?" Ed asked, not yet sure whether to be angry that his son was breaking the rules or concerned that there was something wrong. Clark did not answer Ed's inquiries, in fact Ed was having a lot of trouble hearing what was going on but there was one word that he distinctly heard and knew he did not mistake: gun. Ed's brain kicked into overdrive as he felt an adrenaline rush course through his body. He jumped up from the desk and ran to the gym to find his team.

They heard him approaching before they saw him, his heavy footsteps running across the tile floor. The phone was pressed to his ear but the mouthpiece was pointed away from his face. "Boss!" Ed said as loudly as he risked, not sure if they could hear him on the other end of the line. Everyone knew that something was wrong and jumped from their exercise machines and huddled around him. He spoke quickly and authoritatively:

"I just got a call from Clark. He's at school, I can't make out what's going on but I think the phone is in his pocket, he said something about a gun." Ed was trying to stay calm but panic was squeezing into his voice. Greg took over:

"Suit up, everyone at the trucks in 5." Everyone dispersed except Ed and he. "Winnie." Greg called to the desk. "You need to call Central High, get them on lockdown, possible gun on campus. Also, take Ed's phone, try to clear up the feed and patch it through to the earpieces." Winnie nodded and began to work. "Eddie." Greg said firmly, "Go suit up, it's going to be okay." Ed nodded and ran off to the locker rooms.

-Central High School, 1:25 PM-

Clark knew he needed to be smooth now. He knew what to do in a general sense. His father always said something like building trust, listening; 'I hear you,' his Dad said that Greg usually tried to get people to understand that he cared what happened. _I really hope that call went through_. Clark said to himself. He didn't have time to look at his phone, which was in the pocket of his hoodie. It was really just luck, he never had his phone on, he'd forgotten to switch it off this morning; it was also really lucky that he had his Dad as speed dial 1, Clark knew that he needed to show his hands, but he had time to press that one button. It only came to him now that his Dad never kept his phone on him at work, but he'd tried. Right now it was up to him to calm things down.

"I'm not leaving Sean," Clark said, his voice cracking a bit at first, "just talk to me, what's going on." Clark frantically tried to think three steps ahead, wondering what to do if he looked like he was going to shoot himself, or anyone else for the matter. He couldn't risk looking at his watch but he knew that the lunch period would soon be over.

"Haven't figured it out yet? I'm surprised Clark, you're a smart kid, you know what I'm going to do. I'm going to kill myself." Sean wasn't really smiling, but he definitely didn't look afraid. His voice was even, if anything a little bit emotionless. Clark thought hard.

"Listen man, this isn't the way, okay? Trust me here, give me the gun and...and everything will be okay..." he hesitated, not wanting to say the wrong words.

"No! No. No...no...no" he kept saying, progressively getting quieter until it was barley a whisper.

"I get it, I hear you. You're scared, and you're pissed off at everyone and everything, but this isn't the way. Come on Sean, give me the gun and we'll walk out of here together. You're...you're not alone anymore." He stepped forward ever so slowly. _He's not holding the gun so tightly, it looks like he's relaxing. What now? What now? Do I ask for it again? Do I just take it? Maybe I should wait, or maybe-_his thoughts were interrupted by the shrill ring of the bell. _Shit._

Students began pouring into the hallway as they began heading towards their respective classes. They were going about their business: talking, laughing. He found it ironic as he heard a group of girls approaching and they were giggling manically. And then he saw them. The group of boys was sauntering out of the gym hallway where they cut class in the locker rooms. He wasn't the only one that saw them. Sean's mouth seemed to twitch ever so slightly into a smile as he turned.

"You're a good kid Clark. I'm sorry about this." He turned and raised his gun, holding it steadily as the group approached them. Fear barley had time to register as Ian realized that he had a gun pointed at his head. Clark panicked as he heard a gunshot blast through the air, silencing everything momentarily, then the chaos really began.

-SRU Trucks, 1:31 PM-

"Is the school locked down yet?" Ed asked trying to keep his voice even and calm.

"I put in the call," Winnie began speaking over the headset "but it was the end of the lunch hour, the bell just rang so students are in the halls. Administration said that they're going to sound the alarm immediately but right now the scene is not secure." Ed was barley able to hold in his anger as he began taking a deep breath.

"Keep us up to day Winnie and make sure I can hear that cell conversation." Greg finished the conversation and chanced a glance at Ed in the passenger seat of the black SUV. "Okay team. We don't know much. From what we've gathered, Clark is in proximity to a gun and he's still talking thought it's tough to make out. Spike, I want you in the truck trying to get us better audio. Sam and Jules start at the South side of the school, bottom floor and work your way North and up. Ed, you gonna be okay inside?" Greg asked, knowing the answer already. Ed gave a short nod and mumbled his conformation. "Okay, Ed and Wordy are going to start top floor North side and head south and down. I'm going to start out at the office and see what's going on then I'll join Spike or go where I'm 's keep the peace." There were five affirmations,

"Copy" everyone said simultaneously. Just as Greg was about to explain how he wanted less lethal options everyone was silent as they heard the distinct sound of a gunshot in the cell audio. They waited with bated breath to hear what would come next.

-Central High School, 1:33 PM-

Clark felt like the gunshot was an explosion, dulling his senses, flooring him (even though he had remained glued to the same spot on the floor). His senses seemed to return slowly. The first thing he did was open his eyes, struck by the bright crimson blood that had splattered onto the wall. His body felt heavy as he felt himself rocking slightly on his feet. He could feel sweat running down his face and his arms, suddenly feeling constrained by the dark blue hoodie that he had been wearing most of the day. Then suddenly, as if in a dream, he could hear the noise that surrounded him. He only vaguely noticed the alarm going off in the background signaling a lockdown, oddly enough it wasn't the loudest sound as Clark realized that there was a girl just behind him yelling at the top of her lungs. His body sprang into action before his mind could catch up.

Clark slowly put his hand in his pocket, pulling out the cell phone and placing it in his belt. He hoped against all hope that his Dad was still on the line, on his way, coming to save his from this overwhelming situation. Clark pulled off his hoodie and looked at Sean. He had not moved, he hadn't even lowered the gun yet. His eyes seemed to be glazed over and his face carved out exactly as it had been moments before. He was mumbling something barley audible. Clark stayed still, took a deep breath and tried to listen.

"I killed him...I killed him..." Sean whispered. Clark felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. _No, no, come on Clark, think._ He willed himself. He took a deep breath.

"S...Sean?" Clark said quietly, trying to keep the evident panic out of his voice. Sean turned and looked. It was like he had forgotten there were other people in the hall with him. The girl was still screaming, making it hard for Clark to think calmly. He turned slightly, not breaking eye contact with Sean. "Get out of here," he said to her firmly. Her eyes were glued to the figure on the ground, bleeding. With slightly more authority he said again "get out of here." This time she listened as she turned on her heels and ran. "Sean. Listen, I'm going to check on Ian okay? I just want to slow down the bleeding a little bit, but can you maybe not point the gun at anyone? I just want to check on him..." Clark didn't know what else to say. He hoped that Ian was alive, he thought he saw him breathing, but there was so much blood. Sean didn't say anything, he only lowered the gun, pointing it at the ground as his arm fell to his side. "Thank you Sean." Clark said as he walked over and knelt down next to Ian, hoping that he would still have some life in him.

-Central High School Security Office-

Ed had barley spoken since the gunshot. Team One had just arrived at the school when they heard the unmistakable sound. Everyone had held their breath as they heard the cell phone first go silent, and then clear. They didn't know what this meant for Clark, until he started talking. There was an audible sigh of relief from all of the SRU members as they dispersed and went about their assigned tasks. Greg listened carefully to the cell phone conversation and he heard Clark, scared but calmly ask to check on Ian. At this point he was able to figure out parts of the scene.

"Okay team. Seems like Clark is negotiating with a boy, Sean who is holding a gun. Another boy, Ian is hurt, possibly shot." Greg paused for a moment as an administrator handed over files for all three of the boys involved. As he skimmed Sean's he relayed to the team, "Clark sent away a girl, no name or description, but she witnessed the shooting and will know where they are. Keep an eye out." Greg heard his team respond with copy, but he was trying to absorb the information in Sean and Ian's files. The similarities were striking similar.

Both were from broken homes. Sean's parents were both dead, one from a car accident, the other a suicide. He was living with his grandparents in a lower class area of the city. Ian's father was in jail on drug dealing charges, his mother dead from an overdose. He was living with an uncle, also a suspected drug dealer, also living on a bad side of the city. Greg relayed this information to the team as Clark's voice came back over the cell phone.

"H...he's alive. He's hit in the shoulder and there's a lot of blood Sean, I'm going to use my sweatshirt to try and stop it, but he needs a hospital. Why don't you give me the gun and then I can take Ian and get him some-"

"No! I...I don't know what I want anymore but I know that no one is going anywhere..." Sean started out strongly, but was fading and seemed unsure of his words.

"Okay, okay," Clark tried to calm him. "I'll stay, just relax okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Guys, Clark is keeping Sean calm but it sounds like he's getting desperate. Let's find them. Sam, Jules, where are you?" Greg asked.

"We're heading up to the second floor, north side." Sam replied breathing heavily as they mounted the stairs.

"Good. Ed, Wordy?" Greg inquired.

"Getting to the south side of the fifth floor." Wordy replied urgently. "Ed." Wordy had stopped running and had quietly gotten Ed's attention. In a corner behind a garbage can he had seen a flutter of blond hair. He motioned with his head to the movement and he and Ed raised their weapons. "Police! Come out with your hands up!" Wordy said authoritatively. A skinny blond girl whimpered and threw her hands up behind her head as she crawled out from behind the garbage can. "You're okay now," Wordy assured adding a tone of sympathy to his voice. He took her hand and helped her up.

"There's so much blood..." She choked out in a whisper.

"Where?" Wordy asked with a sense of urgency in his voice. The girl didn't speak, she just pointed down the hallway with a shaky finger. Ed took off down the hall as Wordy told the girl to walk the opposite direction and relayed the information to Greg over the radio. Wordy caught up to Ed as he approached a turn. They both stood still and listened to what was going on for a moment. Ed was able to see Clark and the injured boy but was unable to see the boy with the gun.

"Listen Sean. I know what you're feeling...better than you'd think I knew..." Clark said hesitantly, keeping eye contact with Sean, not yet seeing his father.

"No one understands." Sean said hopelessly.

"They do Sean, I...I do. Listen, everyone thinks about suicide, I do too sometimes." Both Clark's and Ed's hearts jumped at that statement. "But you know what? I'd never do it because I know that there are people that love me, that would be really really hurt if I did it. I...I'd be really upset if you hurt yourself Sean, and other people would be too." Clark tried to keep his voice even but was having trouble as the blood started to seep through the sweatshirt and onto his hands.

Wordy and Ed remained hidden and quiet, they didn't want to escalate the situation if the boy became afraid of them, but they remained at the ready. It was really tearing Ed up to have to listen to his son and not be able to help him. There was silence for a few moments as Sean seemed to consider what Clark had said. There was a mumble that Ed and Wordy couldn't hear, but Clark's cry was clear and worried. "No!"

-Central High School Security Office-

Greg heard Clark's yell and was on his way to Ed and Wordy's position with Spike. "Sam, Jules, ETA?" Greg asked as he ran the five flights of stairs.

"One minute." Sam panted. As they rounded a corner Sam saw the scene unfolding before them. At the end of a hallway Sean pointed a gun at his head while Clark and Ian were on the floor four meters to his left. Ed and Wordy had shown themselves and were slowly moving towards Sean. Ed had holstered his gun and had his hands up in a non-threatening approach. Wordy, still holding his gun, inched closer to Clark and Ian to cover them if the gun swung their way. Sam stepped up and filled in the hole that Wordy had left but stayed back further not wanting the boy to feel boxed in. Jules stayed further back behind Ed. Ed moved forward with a calm voice and a reassuring smile.

"Hi Sean. My name is Ed, I'm Clark's Dad, and I'm a police officer with the Strategic Response Unit." He paused to breath and saw fear flash through Sean's eyes as he gripped the gun tighter. "I want to help you Sean. Just talk to me, what's happening?" Ed asked sympathetically.

"I...I...I want to die..." Sean said, not sounding very confident in his assertions.

"I'm sorry to hear that Sean, but I'm glad that you haven't hurt yourself." Ed was relieved at the weak resolve of the statement but still knew that he had to get the gun out of the boy's hands. "Sean, how would you like to walk out of here?" Ed asked cautiously as he saw a slight glimmer of hope in the boy's eyes. "All you need to do is give me the gun." Ed said hopefully.

Sean's grip tightened for a minute as he looked around at his surroundings as if he was seeing them for the first time. His eyes caught on the blood splattered walls and lockers. His hand began shaking and he started to breath heavily, hyper-ventilating. Sean could hear Ed calling his name, but he was too busy looking at what he had done. His gaze shifted to Ian and Clark, being protected by Wordy.

"H...h...he's...d...dead..." Sean began.

"No," Clark and Ed said simultaneously. Clark gently put a hand on Wordy's shoulder and raised his head enough to be able to look at Sean. "He's not dead, he's hurt and he needs a hospital, but he is not dead Sean. You're not a killer, you made a mistake and you're going to fix it now by giving my Dad the gun and letting us take Ian to a hospital. Okay? Trust me Sean, give my Dad the gun and everything will be okay." Clark said with a deep breath.

Sean looked between him and his father for a minute before he lowered the gun and put it on the ground next to his feet. Sam and Ed moved forward, Sam taking the gan and Ed handcuffing the boy. Ed talked to him while they were going about the formalities.

"It's going to be okay, you're going to go with my friend Sam downstairs and then we're going to take you to see your grandparents." Ed reassured as Sam put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Jules and Sam headed down the hall as Greg, Spike, and Wordy turned their attention to Ian. Clark was still in the mix, not wanting to let pressure from the wound. Greg put his hand on Clark's shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Clark nodded and got up as Wordy took over controlling the bleeding. Ed was standing on the outskirts of the circle of men as his son shakily approached him. He was very pale and as he looked up at Ed his eyes told the entire story. He was not the moody teenager that Ed had seen walk out the door this morning, he was a vulnerable young man who just had the most stressful day of his life. Clark's pace picked up as he approached his father and Ed didn't even realize that he was also running over to his son. Clark fell into Ed's arms and cried in huge shaking gasps.

"It's okay Clark. I'm here now, it's okay. I'm so proud of you Clark. It's okay." Ed reassured as tears came to his eyes briefly. The medics were loading Ian onto a stretcher, they said that things were looking good for a full recovery. Ed barley heard anything that was happening around him. He was completely focused on telling Clark that things would be okay. Wordy and Spike had run off to help pack things up and follow the stretcher but Greg remained near Ed, a hand on his shoulder.

"Eddie, let's move." Greg said gently to prompt Ed and Clark away from the blood pools. Ed didn't want to break his embrace with Clark, he wasn't even sure the boy would be able to make it down the five flights of stairs the way he was shaking.

"Come on Clark, it's okay now," Ed said gently as he lifted Clark and walked them down the stairs into the black SUV that Greg had already started.

-SRU Headquarters-

As Team One walked from the parking garages to the building (Ed and Clark slightly behind the rest of them) Greg spoke. "Go change, meet in the briefing room in 20 minutes. Great work today." Greg softly explained as he lagged back to help Ed and Clark. Clark had stopped crying as heavily and he had given up his vice grip on Ed in order to walk to the SRU floor. He was still shaky and he still held on tightly to his father's hand as he walked, but they slowly made it to the correct floor. Ed took Clark directly to the first aid room as Greg said he'd join them in a minute.

"Sit up here Clark, okay?" Ed asked softly, indicating a padded bed. Ed stripped off his extra gear and grabbed a first aid kit.

"I...I...I'm not hurt." He seemed to choke on his words, horse from yelling and crying. Ed looked at him and nodded sympathetically.

"I know, I just want to clean your hands." Ed seemed pained as he said the words. Clark was covered in blood and had barley noticed it until he brought his attention to it. Clark looked at his hands and began panicking. At that moment Greg knocked gently and came into the room with fresh clothes, a bag of potato chips, and a water bottle. Clark was staring at his hands and breathing shallowly, beginning a panic attack. Ed was near tears at seeing his son's emotional pain and he did all he knew how and hugged him as tightly as he could until his breathing slowed and he stopped shaking. Greg had put on gloves and had pulled out gauze pads and alcohol wipes. Clark leaned back and Ed sat next to him on the table. "Look at me." He said softly as he pulled Clark close. Greg began wiping Clark's arms and hands gently, rhythmically.

It looked like Clark was beginning to drift off into a sleep leaning on his fathers shoulder when Greg finished cleaning his hands. Ed saw Greg get up and he lightly tapped Clark. "Clark? You have to change your clothes now, Greg brought you some. Do you want me to help?" Ed asked gently as Clark sat up, calmer than before.

"N...no. I'll be fine, just...just don't go too far." He said softly, exhaustion evident in his voice, a hint of worry just beneath.

"I'll be right outside the door okay, just holler if you need me." Ed said as he and Greg stepped out. As the door closed Ed let out a quiet breath. Greg carefully looked at him. There was a bit of blood on his shirt from where clark had been leaning on him and his eyes were an icy blue. His expression was difficult to read, even for the seasoned negotiator. His features were stiff, almost angry, but there was something beneath that anger, pain? Sorrow?

"Eddie." Greg started gently, "he did a great job in there. He's a natural, though I'm sure he's picked up some tricks from you." Greg tried to lighten the conversation but he knew that Ed was having nothing of it. "Someone has got to talk to him Eddie. I'll do it if you want, or I'll trust you to debrief him, what do you think he'd prefer?" Ed thought hard about it. He wanted to be there, he knew that, but he didn't think that he would be able to remain impartial or help his son through his pain with anything longer lasting than a hug. Ed seemed to nod at his thoughts.

"Together?" He asked, knowing that Greg would understand.

"That sounds good. Let him rest for a little while. I'll go talk to the team. There are some chips in there and a water for him, get him to eat, or at least drink something." Ed nodded as Greg walked into the briefing room.

"You guys did a really great job today. Fill out your paperwork people, seems like I'm going to have to start watching you do it to assure I'll have it by next year!" Greg added jokingly. The debrief had gone quickly, it was a happy ending really, Sean was on his way to a hospital psychiatric ward, Ian pulled through with his main problem being blood loss (which Clark had controlled fairly efficiently), Clark was the one that Greg was the most worried about at this point. Ed had stayed outside the first aid room for a few minutes until the door cracked open and Clark popped his head out. They went out into the gym together and Greg was able to see Ed trying to get him to eat some of the potato chips. He eventually resolved to sipping the water. They didn't seem to be talking much from where Greg was standing but Clark seemed comforted by Ed's gentle reassurances. "Paperwork. Go." He said to his team, officially dismissing them, "I'll see you all tomorrow at 4 PM." He added as the team rose and began to exit the room. The entire team approached Clark and Ed and softly praised him. Greg exited the room and stood in the doorframe, listening to his team.

"Clark, I think you're a better negotiator than I am...and you're definitely better than Sam is." Spike joked as he dodged Sam's light punches. Clark smiled politely and Ed nodded to them.

"Didn't the boss tell you guys to do your paperwork? I mean if you're bored you can take some of mine..." Everyone nodded with understanding. Jules gave Clark a quick thumbs up and Wordy squeezed his shoulder with a smile. "Thanks guys." Ed said with a genuine expression. As the team filed out, Greg approached them. He sat on a weight bench across from Clark as Ed moved next to his son.

"How you doing Clark?" He paused for a moment, "The clothes fit okay?" Greg asked, trying to get the boy to look at him.

"Yeah, they're fine, thanks." He said briefly raising his head. His eyes were bloodshot from the crying he'd done earlier in the day and his face looked tired, aged almost. Team Three was beginning to filter in for their shift and making their way to the locker rooms.

"What do you say we go into the briefing room?" Greg suggested, waiting for some sign from Clark.

"Sure." He said quietly. Greg and Ed rose as Clark slowly got up and followed them into the briefing room. Clark looked around the room and sat at a chair near the end of the table. Greg sat on one side, Ed on another. They tried to spread the chairs a bit so that Clark wouldn't feel surrounded.

"So, Clark," Greg started calmly trying to look more into the boy's eyes "I'm not sure if you're Dad's ever told you, but after every call we have a debriefing. Now that basically means that we all sit around and we go through everything that happened while we were on the call and we make sure that everyone knows and understands everything, we try to see if there are things we could have done better, and we make sure that everyone is okay." Greg paused, waiting for Clark to look up. He slowly raised his head and looked into Greg's eyes. "I have transcripts of the conversation that you had with Sean. You did a really amazing job Clark. You're Dad and I just want to make sure you're okay." Greg finished, hoping that Clark would talk to them on his own, without more prodding.

Clark seemed to consider what Greg was saying, slowly nodding his head. His eyes seemed glazed, somewhere between overwhelmed and teary. He quickly glanced at his father and then looked straight ahead, not really at either man and softly asked,

"Why?" That one word gave Ed a chill. There were so many meanings that he was able to find from that one word. Why did people hurt one-another? Why did people hurt themselves? Why did the team do this to themselves every day? Why wasn't Ed there sooner to protect his son? Ed's thoughts were interrupted by Greg's smile.

"Where do I start?" Greg asked as he leaned back in his chair slightly.

-Lane Residence-

The drive home started out slightly awkwardly. Ed didn't think that Clark had the desire or the energy to continue talking about his day and menial conversation about hockey or the weather would have only added to the alien situation. As Ed tried to think of something to say, Clark fell asleep in the front seat, his head resting against the window. Ed tried to drive smoothly, not wanting to wake his son. As he pulled into the driveway, his front door flew open and his wife came out to greet them. Ed motioned for her to stay quiet. Wordy had called her throughout the day to inform her of what was going on and when they left Headquarters, Greg had called her as well.

"He's okay, Soph." Ed assured her before he slowly opened the door and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Ugh" he sighed as he lifted his sleeping son. Sophie went ahead of them and opened all of the doors, leading them directly to Clark's room. She left the room to get some water for when he woke up and to start dinner. Ed sat on the edge of the bed and took off Clark's shoes. "There we go buddy, that's better right?" he said quietly, more for himself than for anyone else. He brushed the long hair away from his son's eyes and moved him so he was under the blankets. Clark stirred slightly and his eyes fluttered open. Ed moved into his line of sight and softly told him to rest. Clark nodded, his eyes shutting. "I love you Clark, always remember that." Ed said gently.

"I love you too Dad," Clark said, nearly asleep, "oh..." he added as Ed was walking to the door, "forget about the curfew thing, I think I'll be sleeping for a few more months at this rate." Clark smiled, exhausted.

"Ah, we'll see, maybe midnight is fair. Get some rest, come down or call when you get hungry." Ed said with a small smirk. Clark nodded and fell asleep in an instant. Ed continued quietly downstairs and kissed his wife in the kitchen. She looked at him with inquiring eyes as he got a beer from the fridge.

"So?" she asked, nearly bursting with the question. Ed just nodded slowly, taking a sip of his drink.

"He's me, Soph." He let out a small laugh as he thought about it "he's just like me..." a small glow of pride, mixed with fear, emanating from his expression.

_That's it! So, keeping in mind it was my first fanfic and that I haven't seen every episode of the show (thus I might be messing up some details), how did I do? Please review. _


	2. Chapter 2

One More Hour-Chapter 2

_So I've been writing fanfiction for just over a month and decided to return to this story. I didn't mean for it to be a one-shot originally (I didn't know how to post chapters at the time) and I always wanted to elaborate on one of the ideas I brought up in the story but I wasn't sure if I was cramming too much into one idea. After some time and some reviews and suggestions I decided I'd come back to this and add this chapter. (See, I listen to my reviews, so tell me what you think!) So tell me what you think of both parts, I'm really excited to see how I've progressed. I still don't own anything. _

"Morning, Clark." Ed smiled as he looked up from his newspaper. Clark had just walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see his father sitting at the table in a t-shirt and jeans.

"Morning, Dad." He smiled slightly as he walked over to the refrigerator and got out a carton of orange juice. "You have a night shift or something today?" He asked as he poured himself a glass and grabbed a muffin from the counter. Ed folded his paper and placed it aside as he looked towards his son.

"Nope." He paused as he motioned for Clark to sit down. "I took the rest of the week off." He smiled at Clark's look of surprise. "I'll be on call Friday night but I figured we could spend a little time together this week." Clark looked skeptical, not sure what to make of the motion.

"You never take time off." He said as he ripped a piece of muffin off and put it in his mouth. "I'm pretty sure Greg had to force you to take time when you broke your leg last year." Clark said with a small smile. Though he was functioning much better than he had been Monday night, just after the incident in the school, and he was talking much more than he had been yesterday, Ed was acutely aware of the bags under his eyes and the slight shake of his hands. The principal of the school had called and told Clark to take the week off, more if he wanted and though Clark was hesitant at first, Ed and Sophie convinced him to accept.

"Well, I wanted to be around." Ed said with a more serious look. "How'd you sleep last night?" He asked as he saw Clark freeze briefly before shrugging his shoulders.

"Alright." He responded as he picked at a blueberry in his muffin. He had actually been waking up many times during the night drenched in a cold sweat, his heart racing. He didn't remember the nightmares he assumed he was having and he didn't want to delve into them, he just wanted to forget and sleep through the night for once. Ed was nodding slightly as he tried to find Clark's eyes.

"Just alright?" He asked in a casual tone, leaning back in the chair a bit. Clark nodded.

"Alright." He said again as he briefly met his father's gaze before taking a sip of juice. The orange juice rocked in the glass as Clark's hand shook. Pain flashed across Ed's face for a minute as he saw his son try and calm his muscles.

"You okay, buddy?" He asked as he composed himself.

"I'm fine." Clark said as he put the glass down and folded his hands. Ed closed his eyes and took a breath, hearing himself in Clark's nonchalant tone. He looked up again and tried to find Clark's gaze.

"It's okay to say that you're not okay yet, Clark." He said before leaning in and putting his hands on the table. "It was a really big thing that you went through and it's okay to need a little time." He tried to get across the sympathy, the empathy he felt but the words seemed to fall short of expressing the intense pain he felt for his son. Clark lowered his gaze and looked at his hands.

"I'm fine." He insisted in a hard voice. Ed seemed crestfallen as he took a sip of his coffee. His heart was pounding in his chest as he knew that he needed to ask Clark the question he'd been holding off on since the moment they'd gotten to the scene. He took a few breaths to calm himself as he looked at Clark pick at his muffin, his appetite lost.

"Clark, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about." He looked up at his father and seemed to take some deep breaths. "I wanted to give you a little time to process things before I brought it up." He looked over his son and tried to figure out the best way to start the conversation; he'd rehearsed it in his head all morning but it didn't feel right now. He shook his head subtly as he got himself back on focus. "It's about something you said when you were talking to Sean," Ed saw Clark's muscles tense and relax and decided that it was safe to continue. "Wordy and I were there a little before you saw us, we didn't want to scare Sean so we stayed hidden and I heard you..." He licked his lips and took another breath for a moment. "I heard you tell Sean that sometimes you think about suicide." Ed had never felt his heart beat like this. On calls Ed was in control, when Clark was in danger at school he knew what to do to help, but now...now his son was in deep emotional pain and he had no grasp on the reason or the solution; he felt helpless and he despised it. Clark had frozen at the words and he seemed to be shaking a bit more as he stared at his hands. He knew that he should wait for Clark to respond or say something but he was anxious. "You okay, buddy?" Ed asked, breaking him out of his trance.

"You weren't supposed to hear that." Clark said quietly as he seemed transfixed by his juice. Ed wasn't exactly sure what to say in response but he nodded.

"I know." He said carefully. Clark still hadn't looked up. Ed rested his forearms on the table and leaned in a bit more. "I just want to know that you're okay, Clark." Ed was trying to keep himself calm but he was having trouble keeping the worry from his voice.

"I'm fine." Clark said with a hard edge in his voice. He was obviously uncomfortable but the phrase irked him as he thought of all the times he'd said the same two words to Greg.

"Clark, you don't have to be fine," Frustration was creeping into his tone as he tried to keep his expression sympathetic. "and you don't have to pretend to be fine." Ed said more softly. "I know that it's tough and I know that I haven't set the greatest example with stuff but it'll help to talk about it." Ed put a gentle hand on Clark's forearm as he looked up.

"I'm not in trouble?" Clark asked innocence and worry saturated his voice as he looked at Ed.

"No. No, Clark." Ed said quickly and forcefully. "You're not in trouble at all. I'll never punish you for your thoughts or for your feelings," Ed saw a bit of anxiety leave Clark's face as he continued. "I just..." Ed tried to think of the right way to formulate what he wanted to say but he was at a loss. "...suicide...it's a big...it's not...I just..." He was floundering and Clark saw it.

"I'm not suicidal Dad." Clark said simply as he looked at Ed with a genuine expression. Ed looked obviously relieved but he didn't let his guard down yet.

"Good, I'm really glad to hear that buddy..." he paused and thought for a minute before adding. "but if you were, you'd tell me...?" Ed sat tensely as Clark gave him a hesitant nod. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Ed not sure what to say and Clark itching to get away from the table. Ed cleared his throat.

"Listen buddy," Ed waited for Clark to look at him. "I get it if you don't want to talk to me but maybe it's a good idea for you to talk to someone, just for a little bit." Ed saw the grimace forming on Clark's face.

"I'm not crazy, I don't need a shrink." Resentment was heavy in his voice as Ed sat up a bit and backed off.

"Okay buddy." Ed said softly. "I know you're not crazy, I just...I'm worried about you." He said sincerely. "I bet there's a lot of stuff going on in your head right now with everything that happened on Monday and if there was stuff bothering you to begin with...serious stuff, it might feel overwhelming right now..." Ed saw Clark getting frustrated with the conversation and he couldn't blame him, they were going in circles but Ed wasn't sure what to say without anything to go off of.

"Serious stuff..." Clark quoted Ed as he thought back over the statement. "What, as opposed to the fluffy wonderland that my life usually is?" He said sarcastically as Ed looked at him with a bit of confusion. Clark looked away and shook his head. "But how should you know? I might see you every two or three days if I'm lucky..." Clark said bitterly. Ed shut his eyes for a moment but took the emotional hit.

If Clark needed to vent and let out his anger on Ed, at least he wasn't keeping it bottled up. "I'm taking the course load of a junior, I was pushed ahead because of my test scores, and I love the content but no junior wants to be friends with the know-it-all sophomore so at lunch I sit with the only three people who will talk to me...well who did talk to me." Clark paused as Ed's face turned into a question. "Almost a month ago I reported the one girl to administration, her boyfriend was beating her. She hasn't talked to me since but the others are starting to again." Ed was about to say something but Clark shook his head that he wasn't done. "I comfort Mom as well as I can but every time you're late and no one calls it kills her and I put on a happy face and tell her everything's okay. If you guys are in the same room together you're either fighting, not talking to each other, or pretending it's all okay for me but you know what, I'm not buying it anymore." He paused as he made perfect eye contact with his father. "I might be fifteen but I am not a kid anymore." His features were firm as Ed nodded to him.

"I...I didn't know." Ed mumbled softly. It seemed like a funny thing to say to his son, to tell him that he didn't know he wasn't a kid anymore, but it was more overarching than that. It was almost a statement of surrender as Ed realized how disconnected he was from his own child and his own family.

"I know you didn't." Clark said coldly. "Just like you didn't know I was," He stressed the word and waited for Ed to nod in understanding of the tense before continuing. "was suicidal." Ed seemed to hold his breath as he waited for Clark to continue but it didn't seem he would.

"When?" Ed choked out, still not fully breathing. Clark hesitated a moment but his anger and adrenaline made him continue.

"Twice." He said before softening his voice and looking away. "In the beginning of the year when they placed me in the junior classes I wanted to switch out and move back to my grade but they wouldn't let me. I was having trouble with the workload, no one would talk to me, I didn't want to sound like I was complaining so I didn't tell you or Mom how I was feeling...it crossed my mind...but things evened out when I found some friends and I got the hang of the classes." He chanced a glance at his father before looking at his hands again and continuing in a meeker tone. "The other time was just after I reported Olivia, my friend, to administration." He shifted in his seat slightly. "I know I did the right thing but...I don't know, I just couldn't get the idea out of my head and when no one would talk to me...I don't know." Ed nodded, still a bit paralyzed by what he was hearing.

"I'm sorry you felt so alone, Clark." Ed wasn't sure what he was feeling. He was pained by what Clark was telling him, he felt like he'd failed his son and he felt tears coming to his eyes. He was vaguely glad that he'd waited to be alone with Clark when he had this conversation, Sophie would be losing it right now. Clark gave a curt nod as a bitter smile came to his face.

"I'm coming to the realization that I am alone." Though his voice was strong there was a layer of sadness hidden behind it. Ed shook his head as he put his hands on Clark's shoulders.

"You are not alone." He said strongly. Clark didn't seem fazed by the statement.

"Yeah? Because you're always around to talk about my day right?" The tone bit Ed to the core as he took a breath and tried not to feel angry.

"I might not always be here" He began in a deliberately even tone. "but you're not the only one that feels overwhelmed, and scared, and angry, and...hopeless at times." Clark's face grew softer as he tried to take in what his father was implying. "I know I don't show emotions, it's how I protect myself from the job, but it eats me up and I don't want that to be your life too." Clark looked confused as Ed spoke.

"Are you serious or are you negotiating me right now?" Clark asked with skeptical eyes. "Because I don't know if I can believe that you're ever scared or overwhelmed." He raised an eyebrow as Ed nodded.

"Everyone gets scared at times and everyone feels overwhelmed, I'm no exception." Clark's expression didn't change so he continued. "When Jules was shot I was...I was devastated," Ed's eyes glazed over as he remembered yelling over the radio for them to fallback, hearing Sam's desperate cries for backup...he shook his head to clear the thoughts and focus on the situation now. "I felt guilty and responsible and I thought she was going to die because of me." Ed blinked a tear from his eye. "And when Lou...he was on scene while Sam and Wordy and I went through the subject's house. We were so far away, so disconnected. Then when we got there we were so...we were so helpless. I wanted to do something, I wanted to get out there and help him but there was nothing for us to do." Ed felt tears rising up again as Clark sat across from him, shock evident on his face.

"And then on Monday," He took a shaky breath as he tried to keep composed. "When you called me and all I could do was hope that you would be okay and that you could talk yourself out of it, when I couldn't protect you, when I heard that gunshot go off...I was more scared than I've ever been in my life. I couldn't even process anything, I couldn't think of anything other than finding you and making sure you were safe." A tear rolled down Ed's cheek as Clark starred at him, surprised by the display of emotion. "I love you so much Clark and I hate to see you hurting. I hate to see that I can't protect you and it kills me to the core that you've felt so hopeless and I couldn't help you." He finished as he used his sleeve to wipe the tears from his face. Clark looked like he was also crying as he wrung his hands.

"I haven't been sleeping well," He started as he looked up at his father with innocent eyes. "I...I keep waking up sweating and my heart is racing and I'm breathing fast but I don't remember any nightmares." He bit his lip as he lowered his gaze. "Is that normal?" Ed had to rewind and figure out what was happening. It took him a moment before he realized that Clark was ready to be honest and was starting from the beginning of the conversation.

"It's only Wednesday," He started with as calm a voice as he could manage. "I know it feels like it's been an eternity but not too much time has passed." He said sympathetically. "Sometimes the memories do seep through though and they kill sleeping patterns, I know." Ed said with a nod. "Later on today maybe we can go play basketball or something. It'll help to burn some energy off, the more tired you are the less chance you'll wake up." He shrugged as Clark nodded.

"Yeah, I'd like that." He said as he looked back at his hands. "I'm sorry I lost my temper before, it kind of just happened, I...I didn't mean to say all that stuff."

"It's okay, buddy. You've had a long couple of days, longer few weeks it seems. I'm sorry I wasn't there then to help you out." Ed said as Clark nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Clark spoke.

"Teenagers are supposed to be moody," He rolled his eyes a bit at the stereotype. "And I get that you worry about me but what I said to Sean on Monday, about why I never tried to hurt myself, that was true, Dad. I'd never do that to you and Mom." He bit his lip again hoping that he was saying the right things. Ed nodded.

"I'm glad you're thinking about that buddy, I really am, but I want you to be happy."

"I think I will be, I just...I just need some time to find out what that means for me." Clark paused, not sure if he was making sense. "I mean, I know what happiness is but...what'll make me happy?" He asked rhetorically. "I guess I'm just looking for something and I'm not sure if I've found it quite yet." Ed thought for a moment and nodded in understanding.

"I think I get it." He assured. "But promise me something," Clark looked at him questioningly.

"Until you find that something that makes you happy, you're going to tell someone if you ever feel so hopeless that you think about killing yourself." Clark looked like he was going to say something but Ed continued before he could. "It doesn't have to be me or Mom, just tell someone that can talk to you." He thought for a moment before continuing. "I know you're close to Sam, and you and Spike do your little science experiments, and I know sometimes you talk to Greg; tell one of them what you're thinking or you're feeling and it doesn't have to come back to me. Deal?" He asked hopefully. Clark hesitated for a minute before nodding.

"Deal." He said as Ed let out a breath that he had been holding. They sat in silence for a minute before Ed spoke.

"Anything else you want to talk about, Clark? Anything?" He asked as he stressed the word. Clark seemed to think for a moment before smiling.

"No. Thanks though, Dad." He said as he plucked a blueberry off his muffin.

"You sure?" He asked with a serious face. "Because we can keep talking if you want about anything, or we can take a break and talk later or, whatever you want..." Ed finished as Clark dug another berry out with his fingernails.

"Dad, thank you, but seriously, I'm good. You'll be the first person to know if I want to talk." He said with a slight smile. Ed nodded as he saw Clark going for another berry.

"You should eat more of that muffin if you want to have the energy to beat me one-on-one." He joked as he ripped off a portion for himself.

"You know last week I calculated my accuracy, I've got a 90% perfect shot from the arc." Clark said with a proud smile. Ed raised his eyebrow.

"I like those odds." They laughed as they stood from the table and walked into the hall.

"I'll go change." Clark said as he headed for the stairs as Ed walked over to the sink to start the dishes.

"Clark," Ed called as he walked closer. Ed pulled Clark into a tight hug and held him there for a minute. "I love you."

"Love you too, Dad." Clark said as he returned the hug. "I'm not going to have mercy on you when we get to the court though." He smiled up at his father as he felt some of the weight lifted from his shoulders.

_I liked the beginning of this but I think I kind of lost it. This was really really tough to write actually. It took me a long time to kind of get the responses somewhat acceptable in my mind but I feel like some of the angsty Clark that I wrote last night for my other story "Truth" transferred into this one and I'm not sure how much I like that change. When I wrote the first part of this story I was imagining a much more sensitive Clark but I've been making him progressively angrier so I hope it's not too much of a jump. I think this is done (as long as no one else has any amazing suggestions {Thank you HorseKrazy}) but I'm not totally sure. There was a part of me thinking about another part but I don't know...I've got a lot of other stuff in my head so maybe I'll write that and return. Tell me what you think. _


End file.
